The WTF List of the Week

TGIF! Here is my round-up of events/developments this week that really had me screeching, “WTF” [What the eff], mainly at my computer screen, television, or to no one in particular:

WTF #1: What is up with the U.S.’s unhealthy obsession with President Obama’s religion?! I just don’t understand. Remember when he had to distance himself from his former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright once upon a time? Let’s break it down. Pastor = Christian. Obama went to Pastor’s sermons. Obama = Christian. How is this hard to comprehend? Why do nearly one-in-five Americans believe that the President is a Muslim? And, more importantly, why does it matter?!

WTF#2: As an addendum to the first WTF, please observe this Washington Times piece by Jeffrey Kuhner, entitled, “Obama’s Islamic Agenda.” He wrote,

Mr. Obama openly bragged about his “Muslim background” and that his family had “followers of Islam.” He spoke of his youth in Indonesia, his study of the Koran and the call to Islamic prayer. In short, he discovered his inner Muslim in an attempt to ingratiate himself with the Arab street.

God forbid we all get in touch with our “inner Muslim” by being tolerant, worldly, and developing some form of cultural understanding. To drive home his point – that Obama loves the Muslim World more than Amuuurrica, here was the accompanying photo:

Greg Groesch for The Washington Times

See everyone! Underneath Obama’s makeup, he is a Muslim in disguise! He even has a tatoo on his cheek to prove it! Alert the media! We have a Hajji in our midst!

WTF. WTF. WTF.

WTF#3: American news channels, politicians, and figures – can we please stop with the coverage about the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque“?! It’s not a mosque. It’s not at Ground Zero. Let’s reach a compromise and move on. Sarah Palin, I know the withdrawal symptoms from Twitter bashing (“twashing”) may be tough at first, but you’ll get over it. There are far more important things we should be talking about, which leads me to…

WTF#4: The U.S. media’s concentration on Obama’s religion and Park 51 (aka, the “Ground Zero Mosque”) means there’s been relatively little coverage of an enormous humanitarian disaster – the floods in Pakistan. And we wonder why many Americans aren’t that aware of the devastation of this disaster, which is ongoing. Also, when the Western media does cover the floods, it’s often done through a negative lens, and the human loss and impact of this disaster gets lost in the process. Can we please, for the love of God, recognize the millions suffering without bringing Zardari’s spending habits into the equation or the Islamist issue? Cover the disaster in a way that does justice to the families who have lost their homes and their livelihoods, to the many who don’t give a damn about politics or “strategic interests.” They care about surviving and they care about the day-to-day. Remember that.

WTF#5: Dear Pakistani government, your response to the disaster in Pakistan has been atrocious. As a Pakistani citizen, one who is peddling like mad to drum up funds to send back home, I am disgusted with your political pot shots, your disinterest in your own people, and your lip service to something unfolding in front of your eyes. Everyone has pledged aid – even Afghanistan – who barely has anything right now. If every leader who defaulted on their loans or didn’t pay taxes actually dug into their pockets, maybe the rest of the world wouldn’t be calling us selfish beggars.

The government and local clerics refused to shelter around 500 flood-affected families belonging to the Ahmadiya community in South Punjab’s relief camps. Not only that, the government also did not send relief goods to the flood-hit areas belonging to the Ahmadiya community, The Express Tribune has learnt during a visit to the devastated Punjab districts of Muzaffargarh, Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur.

Are you kidding me with this crap? Aid should be colorblind, because disasters are indiscriminate with who they impact. Your response, dear clerics (or whoever was behind this), should not be contingent on your prejudices. It should embrace every single family suffering because of this disaster. WTF.

This Sialkot business makes me sick to my stomach…its like we’ve forgotten to be human or something. That was my biggest WTF moment this week. And Geo doesn’t help…the whole time they interviewed the Police officials they kept playing the awful video of the torture repeatedly. I wanted to go hang myself!

Can we please, for the love of God, recognize the millions suffering without bringing Zardari’s spending habits into the equation or the Islamist issue? Cover the disaster in a way that does justice to the families who have lost their homes and their livelihoods, to the many who don’t give a damn about politics or “strategic interests.” They care about surviving and they care about the day-to-day.

I hope the American perspective is at least understandable on this one. Potential donors want to ensure that any money they give to help will not be diverted into administrative black holes, or – as has been suggested – to the Islamists themselves. As long as this concern exists the media will follow it.

I totally understand the concern, but most people when they’re giving private donations don’t give directly to the Pakistani government anyway. It’s also the reason why Relief4Pakistan chose Mercy Corps as our relief agency, because of its credibility and visibility in the U.S.

Another thing that bothers me Kalsoom is the fact that the common message repeated ad nausem is “Without aid, the affected will become extremists”

The world is going to help out of sympathy and generosity and not out of fear.

Everyone starting from Zardari (in a joint press conference with John Kerry!), Gilani, Rehman Malik, Shah Mahmood Qureshi down — are repeating this message 10,000 times a day……..And then we sit and wonder why the world tries to label all Pakistanis as terrorists.

Cant we just keep quiet and present our case as that of a humanitarian disaster than using terror as a negotiating point?

What is up with the U.S.’s unhealthy obsession with President Obama’s religion?
1) Ppl think Obama is a closet Muslim.
2)As a Pakistani questioning US institution,u have incredible gal,Pak constitution explicitly forbids non-Muslims(perhaps meaning include Ahmediyas) not to hold President&Prime Minister post.
3)Almost every country that has a sizable Muslim population have a problem..I mean Muslims have a problem living as equals..so naturally US citizens regard Muslims as a 5th column.

Reading ur columns..though u r the most reasonable sounding Pak blogger I have ever encountered..across-the-board..the sheer sense of entitlement felt by Muslims is flabbergasting to me especially inspite of the absolute lack of reciprocity of such sentiments.

Drawing just Muhmmed cartoon(not just w/ a bomb on its head or a disparaging fashion) is absolutely “islamophobic” & “provocative”..but Constructing a $100mil dollar mammoth 13-storey Islamic mosque/cultural centre right near Ground Zero of WTC/NY is pushed down the throat of skeptics as “interfaith dialogue”..shame on you..
You muslims guys need a large dose of introspection of ur paradigms …
Really sorry about causticity of my post..but I really had to take it out of my system…😦
Oh dont post Jon Stewarts’s DailySHow(lib-lefty bleeding hearts’ ) piece as proof of validation..that is pathetic..(horrors of horrors..even Jews agree that we are victims)

People don’t like us. It’s largely our fault. America has a black President, but Americans hate Muslims. Is that American racism, or is it our fault? We need to reconcile with our Hindu and Sikh brothers and sisters. Otherwise we will still be viewed as thuggish aggressors by the goris.

I have some very serious questions. How do we judge the government’s performance? On what basis has everyone reached the conclusion that the government is doing nothing at all?

What is the definition of ‘effort’ when it comes to our government? What, exactly, are we asking for – what is the specific action that, if we see the government implementing, will force us to say that okay, perhaps these corrupt buggers are doing something after all?

Any response would be appreciated. The more specific, the more operational, the better.